Odisha Government Confirms Death of 61 People Due to Cyclone Titli

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Saturday confirmed the death of 61 people due to the very severe cyclonic storm Titli in the four districts of Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada and Kandhamal.

Announcing this at a press briefing after presiding over a high-level review meeting at the State Secretariat here, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said that apart from the 61 deaths, the death of 11 more people is being verified. Of the 72 people who died during the cyclonic storm, three are fishermen from Andhra Pradesh. They had gone for deep-sea fishing off the Gopalpur coast on the night of October 10, a day before the landfall due to the cyclonic storm.

Talking about the restoration work in the four districts, Padhi said that the repair of all the roads except Sorada in Ganjam district and Daringbadi in Ganjam district has been completed. While the supply of drinking water to all the urban local bodies (ULBs) and 570 out of a total of 650 villages in these districts has been restored, repair of all the damaged tube wells has been made. Besides, power connectivity to about 90 per cent of the affected areas will be completed by October 22.

In terms of relief assistance, the chief secretary informed that 50 kg of rice has been provided to each family in the affected areas of these districts. “Financial assistance to the tune of Rs 11 crore has been disbursed among the affected families in Gajapati district, while the process is in the final stage in Ganjam district,” he added.

Stating that about 57,000 houses have been completely damaged, Padhi said the state government has submitted a preliminary report to the Centre on the damage rendered by the cyclone and subsequent flood.